The NBA regular season is entering its final stretch. Playoff positioning is on the line, with teams jostling for seeding advantage and trying to avoid the play-in tournament. For the Minnesota Timberwolves, tonight’s matchup against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden carries significant weight, but they’ll be without their best player, Anthony Edwards.
How Anthony Edwards’ Injury Impacts the Timberwolves’ Season
Edwards will miss the game due to inflammation in his right knee. The Timberwolves announced the injury on Tuesday, March 17, after an MRI conducted by Dr. Craig Bennett at Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine revealed the inflammation. Edwards will be re-evaluated in one to two weeks, meaning he’ll miss at least four games.
Edwards has already missed 13 games this season, including 10 due to hamstring and toe injuries, and with the NBA’s 65-game minimum required for awards eligibility, the math is becoming tight. Because Edwards played only three minutes before leaving with a hamstring injury in an October game against the Pacers, he currently has only 57 qualifying games. He needs eight more appearances of at least 20 minutes to remain eligible for All-NBA honors.
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The encouraging part is that, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, “the inflammation got to a point where he just needs rest to let it calm down. With the playoffs approaching, the priority is getting him fully healthy and ready to go for the postseason.”
Before the injury, Edwards was putting together the best season of his career. He’s averaging 29.5 points per game, ranking third in the league in scoring behind Luka Dončić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Edwards is shooting 49.2% from the field and 40.2% from 3-point range.
Why Anthony Edwards’ Absence Complicates the Timberwolves’ Playoff Push
The Timberwolves are 8-5 this season without Edwards. However, the competition level matters.
Four of those eight wins without him have come against current non-playoff teams. That changes tonight against a Celtics squad on a four-game winning streak.
“We’ve been here before,” Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said. “I think it’s incredible when you think about Ant playing almost 95% of the games he’s been available to play. That’s almost unheard of. But this year we’ve been without him more than in the past. Just got to regroup.”
Minnesota enters at 43-28 and sixth in the Western Conference. Boston, on the other hand, sits at 47-23 and second in the East.
The Celtics have recently welcomed back Jayson Tatum, while Minnesota is leaning on Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, and newcomer Ayo Dosunmu to fill the void. Dosunmu has stepped up in a big way since Edwards went down, and he’ll start again tonight in Edwards’ place.
Tip-off is at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
